


Beard or No Beard

by arysa13



Series: Two Week Challenge - Round Two [13]
Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Humor, Roommates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-13
Updated: 2019-04-13
Packaged: 2020-01-12 15:30:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18449414
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arysa13/pseuds/arysa13
Summary: Clarke has never seen Bellamy without a beard before, and then he shaves and she has feelings about it.





	Beard or No Beard

**Author's Note:**

> for the prompt: After years of the beard, Bellamy shaves and Clarke doesn't know what to think.

Bellamy Blake has had a beard for as long as Clarke has known him. Which is, well, a fair amount of time. Three years to be exact. Which is why it’s such a shock to her when he walks out of the bathroom one morning, and the beard is gone. She can’t help but stare. He looks so _different_ without it. She didn’t know he had a jawline. Or a chin dimple. Or like… really nice looking lips.

“What?” he says, rubbing the back of his neck, clearly uncomfortable by her stare.

“You shaved,” she says dumbly. She’s feeling things. What things, she’s not sure yet. But she definitely has feelings.

“So?”

“You never shave. You always have a beard.”

Bellamy shrugs. “I thought it was time for a change.”

“You thought it was time for a change?” Clarke asks, raising an eyebrow. She’s not buying that.

Bellamy avoids her questioning gaze. “Don’t you need the bathroom?” he asks, trying to sidestep her.

“Bellamy,” Clarke says. “Why did you shave?”

Bellamy huffs. “Why? Don’t you like it?” he asks, stroking his newly clean jaw. It’s so sharp it could cut glass.

Clarke bites her lip. He looks good, like… really good. And it’s not like he wasn’t hot before. Clarke has always known he’s attractive. But like, in an abstract, _my best friend is hot and if he wanted to do me, I wouldn’t say no_ kind of way. But now? Now he’s her _type_. And that’s bad. Because she may or may or not have already been having sort of complicated butterfly type feelings about him, that could be construed as romantic if she analysed them. Which she hasn’t. And she doesn’t want to. So, yeah, the fact that he’s suddenly beardless and like… on a whole other level of sexy? Not great for her.

“No, I like it,” she says quickly. She doesn’t want to hurt his feelings, after all.

“You hate it,” he says. “I can tell.”

“I don’t hate it! I was just surprised. I’ve never seen you without a beard.”

“You’ve seen pictures of me without a beard.”

“It’s not the same.”

Bellamy studies her, trying to work out if she’s telling the truth or just trying to make him feel better. “Okay,” he says, unsure. “You’re sure you like it?”

“Yes,” Clarke tells him. She’s not sure why her opinion on his appearance matters so much though. Sure, she knows he values her opinion, but he has to know he can literally get any woman he wants, beard or no beard, and how she feels about the beard or lack of has no bearing on that.

“I think I’m going to keep it like this for a while,” Bellamy says.

“Okay,” Clarke says. She swallows. Maybe she should have tried to convince him to grow it back. “I’m going to take a shower now,” she says. Bellamy nods, and Clarke hurries into the bathroom. Her face feels all hot. Her thoughts about Bellamy’s new look may have turned a little inappropriate.

It’s not until she’s standing under the running water that she realises Bellamy managed to distract her from finding out his reason for shaving in the first place.

 

-

 

“How are you holding up?” Raven asks Clarke, leaning against the bar while Clarke waits for the bartender to bring her her drink.

“What do you mean? I haven’t even had one drink yet,” Clarke frowns.

Raven grins. “I mean with Bellamy. He’s even hotter without the beard, don’t you think? Must be hard for you.”

The bartender puts Clarke’s drink down in front of her. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Clarke lies. Raven snorts out a laugh.

“Come on. You keep staring at him and then looking away and blushing when he catches your eye.”

Clarke purses her lips. “You noticed that, huh?”

It’s been five days since he first shaved, and he’s kept his face clean shaven ever since. Clarke still isn’t used to it. It’s like every slight curve of his lip is more pronounced, and she still can’t get over the jaw line. She keeps thinking about what it would be like to have that mouth between her legs. It’s getting ridiculous.

“You’re not subtle. You know, Murphy was asking me like last week why you and Bellamy have never hooked up, and I joked that you only liked women and clean-shaven guys.”

Clarke flushes. It’s not exactly the truth, but she can’t deny that she finds guys without beards more attractive than guys with beards. The sudden intensification of her attraction to Bellamy is proof of that.

“I wonder…” Raven muses.

“Wonder what?”

Raven shrugs. “I was wondering if maybe Murphy passed that tidbit of information on to Bellamy. Maybe that’s why he shaved.”

Clarke stares at Raven like she’s delusional. “You think Bellamy decided to shave because he found out _I_ like beardless guys? Don’t be ridiculous.”

“One way to find out,” Raven says. She marches back over to the table where the two guys are sitting, and Clarke trails after her. What Raven’s plan is, Clarke has no idea, but she’s sure she’s not going to like it.

Raven sits in the chair next to Murphy and leans against his shoulder, while Clarke takes the seat next to Bellamy. “Hey babe, help me pick out someone for Clarke to hook up with tonight.”

Murphy screws up his face. “Why? Isn’t she capable of doing that herself?”

“She wants me to do it, and I figure we were talking about Clarke’s taste in men and women the other night so you could help,” Raven says.

“Is this a test?”

“I’m just including you.”

Clarke glances at Bellamy, but he’s looking steadfastly at his drink.

“Fine,” Murphy says.

“What about that guy?” Raven points, and all three of them follow her finger towards a guy with a huge, scruffy beard.

“You told me she doesn’t like bearded guys,” Murphy says. “Don’t tell me that was a lie, cause otherwise Bellamy went to all that trouble for nothing.”

The four of them freeze. Raven looks triumphant, Murphy guilty. And Bellamy, well his face is flushed, and he’s glaring at Murphy. Clarke feels her heart lodge in her throat. Was Raven _right_?

Bellamy downs the rest of his drink quickly and stands up. “I should get going,” he says.

“Bellamy—”

“I’ll see you at home, Clarke,” he says, and then he’s striding towards the exit. Clarke looks to Raven.

“Me and my stupid mouth,” Murphy mutters.

“Well? Go after him!” Raven urges. Clarke jumps up, racing after Bellamy. She finds him on the street, obviously waiting for a ride.

“Bellamy,” Clarke says. He turns to her, looking embarrassed.

“Clarke—”

She closes the space between them in two strides, and then she’s cupping his face in her hands and pulling his lips to hers. It takes him a moment, but then he’s kissing her back, his hands settling heavy on her lower back. When she pulls away, he looks a little dazed.

“Did you really shave your beard because of me?”

Bellamy shrugs. “It may have been some factor.”

She strokes his smooth face. “Well, I really do like it. But for the record, I like you when you have a beard too.”

“But it’s the no beard thing that tipped the scales, right?”

Clarke flushes. “Maybe. But if you wanted to grow it back, I wouldn’t like… stop being into you.”

Bellamy grins. “So you’re into me.”

“Did the kissing not tip you off?”

“It was a good hint,” he smirks. “But I’m not sure I get it yet.”

Clarke laughs, and pulls him in for another kiss.

**Author's Note:**

> main tumblr: keiraknighted  
> fic tumblr: arysafics


End file.
